The 2 Pantry Staples That Prevent Roaches From Invading Your Kitchen

Kitchen cleanliness isn't something you should take lightly. Let the dust bunnies pile up in other rooms, drop your laundry all over the floor, sure, but food mess? Nuh-uh, no way. Even a crumb of a midnight snack can act as a beacon for ravenous pests, so swoop in with some lemon cleaner (or bleach wipes in dire cases) to wipe away any potential problems before they spiral wildly out of hand. Still, even with your best efforts, some nasty little bugs can get through, and roaches are one of the most stubborn. If you've ever had a roach problem in your kitchen, you know the exact despair. Today, we at Tasting Table are here to bring you an easy pantry hack that will help you clear out roaches, and all you need are baking soda and onions.

The method is simple. Take a raw onion of any kind and dice it or mince it up. Then, mix it in with baking soda. The onion works as the lure, attracting roaches over with its delightfully pungent aroma. Once they gobble up the mixture, the baking soda will kill them off within 12 to 24 hours after consumption. That said, it's not an immediate fix. If you're dealing with a bad infestation, you may still want to call professional exterminators to take a look and give you their opinion.

Baking soda is the key ingredient here, but how does baking soda kill roaches? Basically, the baking soda causes a build-up of gas in the cockroach's stomach. This destroys the digestive system over hours and eventually kills the roach, with the time it takes depending on how much of the stuff they ingest. Unfortunately, you'll have to prepare yourself to be sweeping up roach carcasses for a few days after you set the trap.

Baking soda's a pretty versatile cleaner to have on hand in general, on top of being a baking staple, so chances are high you won't have to go out of your way to nab some. It's also non-toxic for humans and safe to use around your pets in small quantities, but you'll want to make sure they aren't ingesting a lot of it, so keep a close eye on your traps or make sure your beloved furballs can't get into the area where they're set. From there, it's just a matter of patience and enduring the faint scent of raw onion for a little while, and your kitchen's roach population will tank before you know it.